Marine returns from Afghanistan, surprises his daughters at school

Marine returns from Afghanistan, surprises his daughters at school
Tampa Bay Times
By Elizabeth Behrman
Times Staff Writer
September 19, 2012

LITHIA — Marine Capt. Esteban Jimenez waited nervously in the lobby as his wife checked their two daughters out of school early Tuesday afternoon.

He wasn't expecting to see so many news cameras, he told a group of reporters who were crowded in the lobby of FishHawk Creek Elementary School.

His daughters, 5-year-old Isabella and 9-year-old Analisa, weren't expecting to see him.

Jimenez, 34, just returned from a seven-month tour of Afghanistan — his second — and he wanted to surprise his girls.

He wasn't supposed to come home until February, but he was able to leave early when the Marine Corps found someone else to take his place.

After 48 hours and several layover flights, he landed Tuesday morning at Tampa International Airport, where his wife Jennifer, and their son Esteban, 4, picked him up.

Then, they headed to the girls' school.
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